Flexible metal freezing tray



Jan. 31, 1939. H. D. GEYER 2, ,7 9-

FLEXIBLLE METAL FREEZING TRAY Filed March 2, 1936 K R: g Q g I a w g "C DY l (m. .531 L fi mvN-i'oR & & Hart E Sayer HIS ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 31, 1939 PATENT OFFICE FLEXIBLE LIETAL FREEZING TRAY 7 Harvey D. Geyer, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation,-Detroit, Mich., a. corporation of Delaware v Application-March 2,. 1936, Serial No. 66,616

'1 Claims. (Cl. 62-1085) be held in slightly contracted form by distortionof the metal thereof until the ice is fully frozen, and having means for releasing the contracting means which will permit said metal compartments to slightly increase in size and thereby facilitate the looseningof the frozen ice blocks therefrom.

Another object is to provide a distortable metal freezing tray having means for either positively contracting or expanding the size of the ice block compartments to facilitate removal of the frozen contents thereof.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a two-row ice tray made according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is in part a side elevation and in part a section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. '1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section thru one ice cup and illustrates the ejection of the ice block by mechanically contracting the flexible metal walls thereof upon the ice.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section similar to Fig. 3 and illustrates'the twosep'arate ice blocks freed from the two flexible metal cups by distortion of the flexible walls of said cups.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout.

The flexible metal tray l shown in the drawing comprises ten seamless drawn metal cups ll which are welded or otherwise fixed together along their upper contacting edges l2 and I3 to form a unitary container. "Each metal cup H is provided with an interiorly projecting'fold or ridge l in the metal thereof in order to provide individual expandibility or contractibility for each cup. In other words, the folds l5 in each cup ll form transverse lines of relatively easy fiexure therein so that each cup ll may be easily slightly elongated by tension thereupon,

or slightly shortened by compressing same upon its two ends which lie parallel to the fold I5 therein. Obviously when the cups II are arranged to form a tray as showniin Fig. 1, all of said cups may be slightly elongated by tension 5 applied only at the two ends of the tray ill; and conversely the cups may be slightly shortened by compression or the forcing of the two ends of tray l0 closer together. In both cases the cups II are sodistorted as to loosen the frozen no ice blocks therefrom.

Furthermore such a tray Ill may be readily bent upwardly at its central portion and downwardly at its end portions, which bending movement obviously will flex the metal walls of the i5 individually flexible cups II in such a manner as to entirely or partially free the frozen .bond between the ice blocks and cups ll, whereby to facilitate their removal from the tray.

Furthermore such a tray may be readily distorted by a twisting or warping action by twisting one longitudinal end of tray It in one direction and the opposite end thereof in an opposite direction. This twisting distortion of p the tray as a whole will flex or distort each cup II' a slight amount and thereby facilitate the loosening of the ice blocks from their frozen bond to the metal walls. e v

If desired, all of the above-mentioned ways of distorting tray It may be done by grasping the tray with both hands in order to loosen the ice blocks from their frozen bond to the cups ll. However in the form shown in the drawing, I have illustrated a hand-cranking mechanism 2% for either elongating or stretching tray it beyond its normal length, or shortening or compressing tray l0 less than its normal length. In both cases the flexible metal cups III! are slightly changed in shape so as to facilitate the. loosening of the frozen ice blocks therefrom. 40

Mechanism 2|) comprises-a longitudinallyextending rotatable shaft 2! which is suitably mounted at each end of tray l0 and preferably also at one-or several bearings 22 along its length. At the rear end of tray It a metal end-plate 23 415 is, welded or otherwise strongly fixed to both the end cups ll and serves as an end reinforcement to the tray'. A similar front end-plate M is strongly fixed to the two front end cups ill.

Shaft H has a screw-threaded rear end 25 which her 28 having an annular flange 29 which engages collar 21 on its front surface. Thus/it is seen that shaft 21 may rotate freely in its bearing in the front end-plate 24 but ,cannot move longitudinally relative thereto. Shaft 2| has a suitable crank handle 30 by whlch shaft 2l may be rapidly and easily rotated by hand and thereby cause its threaded end 25 to screw into or out of its threaded bearing 26 in the rear end-plate. When shaft 2| is turned in such direction as to screw its end 25 into the rear bearing 26 obviously the two end-plates 23 and 24 are moved closer together, thus shortening the length of the tray ill by a small compressive distortion on each of the cups I I. When shaft 2| is rotated in the other direction the tray I0 is stretched or made longer by a small expanding distortion of each of cups l I. Obviously then the flexible caps ll may be either expanded or contracted beyond their normal length or usual shape simply by rotating the crank 30.

In operation, tray I0 is filled to the desired level with water or other liquid to be frozen and placed in a freezing compartment until the liquid is frozen solid and incidentally bonded to the metal surfaces by a frozen bond. The ice blocks may be loosened from tray [0 simply by turning the hand crank 30. If crank 30 is turned in the direction to lengthen the tray ID, as described above, each of the metal cups I l is slightly stretched out beyond its normal length and thereby the metal walls contacting the ice are so distorted as to peal or break the frozen bond between the ice'and walls. Thereafter all the iceblocks maybe readily picked out individually by hand, or the entire contents may be dumped out by inverting the tray ID.

If crank 38 is turned in the direction to compress or shorten' tray I0, as described above, each of the metal cups I I has its two tapered end walls l4 compressed upon the ice block' therein and its other metal walls slightly distortedto' free the frozen bond with the ice. The movement of the tapered end walls from their dotted position l4 (shown in Fig. 4) to their full line position I 4 causes the contained ice block to cam upwardly where it can be easily grasped with the flngers or ice tongs. The folds IS in each metal cup ll obviously provide for a slight distortion of the side walls and bottom wall of each metal cup II when said cups are either stretchedand in so doing will automatically distort sumciently to free the frozen bond with their contained ice blocks. If this automatic freeing action be used it will be unnecessary to stretch tray I by. manual force upon crank 30 and hence the.

2,145,719 a collar 21 and its cooperatingmetal flange 2 may be omitted.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A freezing tray comprising: a distortable metal container having a series of distortable ice-block compartments, and a longitudinal rod extending along the central portion of said tray and manually actuatable to distort said container to facilitate the loosening of the ice block therefrom.

2. A freezing traycomprising: a distortable metal container having a-series of distortable iceblock compartments, and a rotatable shaft extending along the central portion of the tray and attached thereto and manually rotatable to distort said container 'to facilitate the loosening of the ice blocks therefrom.

3. A freezing tray comprising: a distortable ice-block compartments, and a rotatable shaft attached to said tray exterior to its ice compartments and manually rotatable to distort said container to facilitate removal of the ice =blocks therefrom. r

- 4. A freezing tray comprising a series of flexible metal ice block co partments which are distortable to both inc ased and decreased size, and force-multiplying mechanism attached to said tray and manually selectively operable to either increase or decrease the size of said compartment to facilitate the loosening of the frozen ice blocks therefrom.

5. A freezing tray comprising: a flexible metal container having a series of ice-block compartments, and force-multiplying mechanism attached to said tray and reacting with a relatively large force upon opposed end portions of said container and manually operable by a relatively small manually exerted force to distort-said ice block compartments after the ice blocks are frozen therein and bonded thereto and thereby loosen the frozen ice blocks therefrom.

6. An elongated freezing tray comprising: a

series of distortable metal ice pockets, and an actuating rod mounted upon said tray and extending longitudinally with the longer dimension of said tray and reacting upon opposed end portions thereof, said rod being manually actuatable to stretch said metal ice pockets and thereby facilitate the removal of the frozen ice blocks therefrom. 7. A freezing device comprising a series of flexible metal ice-block compartments fixed together end to end in a row, and force-multiplying mechanism reacting with a relatively large force upon opposite ends of said row of compartments and manually operable by a relatively small applied force to stretch said compartments by distortion thereof and thereby facilitate the removal of the frozen ice blocks therefrom.

n. GEYER.

metal container having a .series of distortable 

